SENSNEWS

The Ottawa Senators’ prospect pool has improved a decent bit over the past couple of seasons. But one name that has become underrated across the league is Stephen Halliday.

Stephen Halliday Has Been Quietly Excellent

Most Senators fans are well aware of how impressive Halliday has been over the past few years. But it seems the rest of the NHL has yet to recognize that he could have quite an impactful NHL career.

At 23 years old, Halliday looks ready to make the jump to the NHL. On the Senators, he would certainly be one of the first call-ups in the event of an injury.

Stephen Halliday Stats

This past season with Belleville in the AHL, Halliday was elite—putting up 19 goals and 32 assists for 51 points in 71 games.

This came after an impressive debut season, where he scored 5 points in 10 regular-season games, as well as 9 points in 7 playoff games.

Now, Halliday will likely be looked at as the Belleville Senators’ number one centre—a role he has already proven he can fulfill.

Halliday A Leader With The Belleville Senators

Halliday’s 51 points this past season ranked first on the team, three points ahead of both Garrett Pilon and Jeremy Davies. These results came on a Belleville Senators team that ultimately missed the playoffs.

Halliday is yet to make his NHL debut, but that may change this season. Arthur Kaliyev is currently listed as the team’s 13th forward according to PuckPedia, but I believe that slot will belong to Halliday.

Stephen Halliday’s Playstyle

If you’re unfamiliar with Halliday’s game, he is best known as a power playmaker. He has a large frame, standing at 6’4” and 212 lbs, but he possesses the hands of a much smaller player.

This unique combination allows Halliday to set up his teammates with precision. He’s able to draw a second defender and use his elite vision to find the open man for high-danger scoring chances.

With Belleville, he is the engine of the power play. Once set up in the offensive zone, the puck often flowed through Halliday as he orchestrated the man-advantage attack.

One key aspect of his game is that he remains a scoring threat himself. While passing is usually his first option, his shot is deceptive enough to beat goaltenders clean.

He’s shown excellent chemistry with Wyatt Bongiovanni, who was brought in around the 2023–24 trade deadline. That same connection should be on full display again this season.

One of the newly acquired players for the Senators is Arthur Kaliyev, who was signed to a two-way contract this offseason. While he’s currently listed as Ottawa’s 13th forward, he’ll most likely begin the year in Belleville.

The idea of a Halliday-Kaliyev duo seems extremely effective at the AHL level. Kaliyev is a pure sniper and more than capable of finishing off setups from Halliday—especially on the power play.

Halliday Should Be On The NHL Radar

Both players should be able to thrive, and that’s one of many reasons why Halliday could earn a call-up opportunity. If Ottawa wants to continue investing in his development, they’ll need to give him a shot sooner rather than later.

With Ottawa, Halliday could provide agreat secondary scoring layer. He’s not yet ready for a top-six role in the NHL, but as a bottom-six forward and second power play unit contributor, he has plenty of potential.

The biggest area for Halliday to continue improving is his skating. It remains his most significant weakness and the main barrier preventing him from becoming an everyday NHL player.

But Halliday has been working on it consistently. He’s spent time with Senators skating coach Shelley Kettles and has shown progress in that area.

So, for all the Senators fans who are excited about the newer prospects, don’t forget about Stephen Halliday.

He still has plenty of upside as a potential third-line forward at the NHL level—and he may be ready for that role sooner than expected.

In my most recent Ottawa Senators prospect rankings, Halliday came in at fifth overall—just behind Carter Yakemchuk, Leevi Merilainen, Logan Hensler, and Blake Montgomery.

He still holds strong value within the Senators organization, and as a former fourth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, he’s someone I’ll be keeping a very close eye on this season.